Dead weather

For the most part this summer has sucked. Rain, rain and yet more rain. Trying to find a reasonable day to get in a hike has been impossible. With many of my remaining 46er peaks, wet weather is not an advantage: Allen (drown crossing rivers), Santannoni (drown crossing mud pit) or Redfield/Cliff (drown crossing beaver pond between Lake Arnold and the Feldspar trail. There is a small patch of land in my back yard where there used to be a tree that has really appreciated the constant rain but otherwise it aint a good thing.

Last weekend was the Highland games in Montreal. It did rain that day but there was a window of dryness in the afternoon for most of the festivities. It is great fun to watch the various sports like the sheef toss and of course the tossing the caber which had an added element of danger with the muddy slippery field (see videos). Listening to the various bands being judged is awesome if you like the bagpipes.

Then back in July it was Bluesfest, the best music value going. In fact if I lived in upstate New York I would consider a trip to Ottawa to take in the local sights and catch a few shows! This year's line up was not as good as prior years but as always I discovered some new bands like the Black Keys. The highlight by far of the festival was the Dead Weather who rocked a side stage on the last day.